No War or Sanctions against Iran
Submitted by Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII)
This conference notes:
- President Obama has not rescinded the Bush Administration’s policy of covert operations to destabilise the Islamic Republic of Iran by supporting terrorist organisations of Jondollah, Pjak and MKO.
- Despite baseless accusations of the West, the IAEA has found no evidence of a nuclear weaponisation programme in Iran.
- In April 2010, the government of Iran organised the International Conference for Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation in Tehran which called for global nuclear disarmament and for a Middle East free of WMD.
- The non-aligned movement consisting of 118 countries defended Iran’s nuclear programme in September 2010 and warned against political pressure on the IAEA while criticising its new Director General for biased reporting against Iran.
- A recent 2010 Arab Public Opinion Poll, carried out by Zogby International in six major Arab countries, asked the local population to name two countries that pose the biggest threat to them – 88% said Israel, 77% said the US and only 10% said Iran.
- In May 2010, strongly urged by President Obama, Brazil and Turkey brokered the Tehran Declaration in which Iran, as requested by the US, agreed to transfer 1200 kg of its low enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for fuel rods for medical purposes. However, the agreement was immediately dismissed by the US who responded by drafting a resolution for a new round of UN Security Council sanctions against Iran, which was followed by additional and unilateral US and EU sanctions.
- All the completely discredited accusations of supporting terrorism, links to Al-Qaida and clandestine WMD programme, used to make the case for war on Iraq, are now being used against Iran.
This conference believes:
- The differences between the US and Iran must be resolved through negotiations and respect for Islamic Republic of Iran’s right to exist and its civilian nuclear programme.
- Iran’s nuclear issue should be returned from the UN Security Council to the IAEA and resolved through continued negotiations and not sanctions or military threats.
- The latest US sanctions under the pretext of human rights violations in Iran is the ultimate hypocrisy given the US extensive record of illegal wars of aggression, war crimes and systematic human rights violations in the region.
- Sanctions, foreign state interference, destabilisation programme and Western military threats have created a state of siege in Iran greatly harmful to the cause of human rights, democratic rights and the civil society organisations and aspirations of Iranian people.
- Sanctions against Iran together with the massive build-up of US military forces and unprecedented US arms sales to the Persian Gulf countries can be the prelude to a new and even more catastrophic war once more on false pretexts.
This conference resolves:
- The Stop the War Coalition will allocate resources to lobby MPs, challenge media distortions on Iran and mobilise support in the trade unions and students unions and all affiliated organisations to include in their demands “No War or Sanctions against Iran!”
- The Stop the War Coalition will demand from the Cameron and Clegg government
(i) To publicly oppose any military intervention and any new sanctions against Iran.
(ii) To revoke the EU and UN Security Council sanctions against Iran, including those against Iran’s civilian aviation industry which have already resulted in dozens of domestic air plane crashes killing thousands of passengers.
(iii) To enter into unconditional negotiations with Iran to resolve the stand-off in a peaceful way by respecting the Islamic Republic of Iran’s sovereignty and its civilian nuclear programme.
